091026 - Pure Michigan Moment - Linda Hart

0:00We are traveling to Holland, Michigan for our pure Michigan moment today on the Louisiana Lance show here on 1290 WLBY. Many of our listeners know I was in Holland recently for a gorgeous wedding at the Felt Mansion, the Felt Estate. So much history there. It's kind of deep in the woods. It was so much fun. But many of the people I was at the wedding with also did other fun things around Holland. They went to the Saga Tuck area and did the Dune Buggy rides. There's the beautiful lake, of course, there. So much more than just the tulip festival where normally we're talking about that comes spring time. There's always something to discover in Holland and Fall really brings its own charm. So let's check in with Linda Hartchie as the executive director of the Holland Convention and Visitors Bureau. I love your town and it was so spectacular to be there in the middle of summer at that gorgeous estate. It was a new experience for me up in Holland. I didn't even know the Felt Estate had existed, Linda.

1:01Good morning. Yes. Good morning. Good morning. It is a beautiful facility and it's very popular. It's got a great history. Even in the fall they do. And I don't want to get into the history of it. That's really, really cool. They do during Halloween. They do tours of Halloween. And if you listen to the stories, it's got that creep factor that goes right up there. Other than that, it's a beautiful facility. A lot of rich, rich history. So I would certainly recommend visiting it anytime of year. Well, and I hadn't realized that Pope Leo has a connection there because at one time it was seminary, I guess, that he attended and stuff, right? Yes, absolutely. Yes. So, you know, we try to claim a lot of things here and there. You know, what's Holland about? You know, whether it's, you know, the Wizard of Oz or it's Pope Leo. Just that box. Beautiful. Well, so many people think of Holland, Michigan during, of course, the tulip festival, which is truly remarkable. There's hundreds of thousands of tulips that are bloom at that time and so much to do. And you, you guys really know how to celebrate that. But there's a lot to do in autumn as well. So let's explore.

2:02Where do you want to start this morning? Well, let's talk about what's happening this weekend because that's right around the corner and it's the Holland Haven marathon. So, you know, anywhere in West Michigan is a great opportunity for runners to come and, you know, run the trails, run the tracks. And just to explore the beauty that we have out here along the lakeshore. But the Holland Haven marathon is kind of special. It is the last, it's the final chance to qualify for the Boston marathon. Well, it's where a lot of people don't know that. We normally get around 1500 racers. Wow. That will come in participate. There is a full marathon, which is the full 26.2 miles. There is a half marathon. That half marathon is sold out. There's an 8K, which probably is more along my level, maybe. And then there is a virtual race. So that is this Sunday. It does start in Grand Haven. So, you know, we pair that up with our with our sister Beach Town just north of us. Starts in Grand Haven and it ends in Holland. So if you're a runner and you just want to get out and, you know, explore West Michigan,

3:07it's supposed to be beautiful this weekend. It's a great opportunity to do that. So I would certainly recommend that. I didn't realize that was a qualifier for the Boston marathon. I can imagine the attraction of that. The following weekend, you've got a civil war. Muster. Is that right? Yes. Yes. It's the 17th annual Van Rawlty Farm Civil War muster. So Van Rawlty was the founder of Holland. It's his grandson who owns the property, used to own the property. And every year they do a reenactment of any one of the battles from the Civil War. So this year they're going to be doing the 166th anniversary of the first battle of bull run. So what's kind of cool about the muster is that not only do they do reenactments of the various battles and again, this one's going to be the battle bull run, but they also have historical interpreters portraying folks like Abraham Lincoln and you, you list his grant, Robert E. Lee, Harriet Tubman. But what's special about the muster this year is that they're partnering with four

4:12Americas to 50th anniversary. So they're have the Freedom Truck World Museum. They're going to do some skirmishes from the American Revolution. They'll also be actors portraying, you know, George and Martha Washington, John and Abigail Adams, Thomas and Martha Jefferson. So it'll be a great opportunity. And again, it's a free event for folks who love history to be able to see it and immerse themselves in it as you, as you're literally talking to Abraham Lincoln or you're literally talking to George Washington and then to have the reenactments. The mobile museum alone is going to be super special. So we're very fortunate to be able to include that in this year's muster. Wow. That's incredible. September 19th and 20th in the Holland Michigan area. Yes. We talked this morning here on the Lucian Lance show on 1290 WLBY with Linda Hart from the Holland Convention and Visitors Bureau. Let's kick off October then with the big fall fest. That's the weekend of October 2nd and 3rd in Holland.

5:14What is your fall fest like, Linda? So a lot of fall fest. We think about the pumpkins and the decorations and the corn and all that. And we have all of that. But what we'd like to, what I think is really special about Holland's fall fest is that, we have the pumpkins that are on display throughout the downtown. We do large carvings. So we have nationally recognized carvers that come in and think about those big giant pumpkins, 2,000 pound pumpkins. There might be four or five of them and they hand carve them throughout the two days. All Friday and all Saturday. And then on Saturday evening, everything gets lit up. And it's usually some sort of theme. We've done hearing potter one time. We've done legos one time. So it's kind of it's a great family fun activity. But not only do we do the not only are the the the carvers there carving the pumpkins, but there's also an artisan market that takes place over the weekend. There's also tulip planting. So we talk about how popular tulip time is.

6:17Everybody has a beautiful tulip. So we ask all of you who came and saw the tulips to come back and help us plant them. So we have a community planting day on that Friday, October seconds to be able to come if you want to do that. And then knew this year their daughter in what's called a proof. It's a tasting tour. So it's kind of a Dutch twist to be able to sample in sip again, 21 plus throughout the downtown. So you know, just some added value to the activity. But when my island gardens is decorated, the downtown is decorated. There's a lot of children's activities. So great opportunity for the family to come out and do some stuff. That's the Holland Fall Fest for all the activities that we're talking about today. You can visit Holland.org and get details on these Holland dot org. You know, you every weekend, you're doing something here. It's amazing because the following weekend after the Fall Fest is the International Festival on October 10th. Tell us about that. Yeah. So this is opportunity for everybody to celebrate the diversity of West Michigan. So we talk about cultures and working and playing in West Michigan.

7:21This was kicked off in 2019, hosted by the City of Holland. And you know, so you have everything during this event from tribal dancers and Japanese drumming to Cuban jazz. There's a festival Mercado. So if you want to come and find something special, there's a food trucks and cuisine. And so this year is no different. They just improve it every year or grow it every year to make it bigger and better. And we try to recognize just about every country out there that lives in West Michigan or the surrounding area. So we're very, very excited about that. That's going to be on Saturday, October 10th from four to seven at the Holland Civic Center place. And again, another free activity. Oh, how fun. When I was at the wedding festivities, we took a the night before the groom's family had a big dinner on the paddle boat. So we took that in through the channel of Lake Macatawa and went up to Lake Michigan

8:22there. And that was wonderful. And afterwards, we were waiting for the trolley to pick us up. And I was talking with some of the locals who had their chair set out under the gazebo, just enjoying Lake Macatawa. And they said, have you been to our downtown yet? And I said, no, I haven't. They said, you got to go to our downtown. So I took a little tour downtown then on Sunday. Went to church down there. And then I was hoping to get into the windmill to have breakfast. And the windmill was down the street. You couldn't get in there to save your life. I mean, for breakfast anyway. It really, really, really, even in the fall and the winter. You go down there in the winter because it's a very, very small diner. But even in the winter, people just got out there all just snuck it up with their coats and hats and they're still waiting at lunch. Yeah, they're still waiting at lunch. Well, one thing that is so remarkable is the fact that you've got the lake, you've got the downtown, you've got all these festivals, you've got historic points, you've got doom buggy rides not too far away. I mean, you're really a nice area for people to relax, enjoy any time of the year because

9:25of all the amenities in Holland, Michigan. It is. It is. It is. It is. It is. It is. It is. We've been to streets and sightings, so it gets an opportunity for visitors to come here and go home and to explore and take a picture to the main town. The downtown has to offer. You can visit Holland.org and get more details on all of these great events in Holland, Michigan, Holland.org. And of course, your trip always begins at Michigan.org for our great state of Michigan, wherever you might be traveling. Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful community with us. We'll see you next time in Holland. Linda, we appreciate it. Thank you. Bye bye. Linda Hart who heads up the CBB for Holland, Michigan, the Convention of Visitors Bureau there. I'm Lucia N. Lance. You're listening to Ann Arbor's Talk Station, 1290 WLBY.